Joel Embiid finally debuts with ‘rusty’ performance in loss against Knicks

After a ton of controversy since the start of the season, Joel Embiid was finally cleared to play and made his campaign debut this Tuesday evening in Philadelphia’s loss to New York. Not only was his performance “rusty,” described by his own standards, his team fell to their sixth defeat in seven games. 

With this result, the 76ers are now 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 2-8 record. The All-Star center had a rough night, to say the least, dropping in only 13 points, handed out 5 assists and earning 3 rebounds. Also, eight of his points were scored from the free throw line, amid a poor 2-of-11 from the field.

The Sixers big man couldn’t hide his mediocre display after the game, and was honest about his woes. “I felt okay,” Joel told reporters. “First five minutes were rough but I guess that’s what happens when you haven’t played in a while. I thought after that, still extremely rusty.”

“Joel Embiid will never win a championship until he gets his mind and his attitude right”

Shaq is sick of Embiid’s anticspic.twitter.com/rOOTKqJCa9

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 13, 2024

“That’s expected. Thought overall, I felt pretty good health-wise. I think it’s just about trusting myself. Thought I was a little timid, so I stuck with a lot of jumpers just to get myself a little comfortable. But as the games go, I’m sure just getting back to myself is gonna be easier,” he then added.

While Embiid expressed his desire to participate in Philly’s next match, which is a back-to-back contest against the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers, it still remains a mystery if his team’s medical team will give him clearance to play every single game from now on.

“I mean, the first five minutes, that’s expected,” the 30-year-old insisted. “We all go through the same thing. And then I thought after that, it was fine. You can do whatever you want in practice and scrimmages. But the game’s a different story, so I’ll be fine.”

With no guarantee that Embiid won’t fall to injury again, his coach Nick Nurse has always said his health remains a priority. “Our medical is first and foremost,” he has been saying since opening night. “Joel is there, the front office, myself, everybody is weighing in. … We’re just trying to do something a little different and get him there (to the playoffs) this time.”

The All-Star center has been very vocal on what he’s called ‘bullshit’ criticism from the press over his injury absence this season

Joel’s patience certainly faded through the past month as critics started getting on his nerves. The player missed out on the first three weeks of the 2024-25 season while the Sixers kept managing his recovery from his left knee, and he’s been calling out of the media for suggesting he doesn’t want to compete or is too delicate to want to expose himself to the league’s intensity.

Last week, he attended the press and made sure everyone around knew how much he’s sacrificed for this franchise. “I’ve broken my face twice. I came back early with the risk of losing my vision,” he told reporters at the start of November.

“…When I see people saying, he doesn’t want to play, I’ve done way too much for this city, putting myself at risk for people to be saying that. I do think it’s bulls–t … I’ve done way too much for this f–king city to be treated like this,” Embiid assured.

Unfortunately for the All-Star, some of the most important analysts in the media like Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal have legitimized the criticism against the 2022-23 league MVP. However, Embiid had his eyes set on Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, who called him “the least-dependable superstar in the history of the game.”